A sustainable geostationary space environment requires new norms of behavior

Abstract

Modern life is increasingly dependent on space technologies such as satellite communication, positioning, and remote sensing, but the political system that has enabled these advances remains fragile. In this essay, we highlight normative contestation—disagreements between space stakeholders in how operators should be expected to behave—in the geosynchronous orbital regime (GEO) as a threat to a secure and sustainable space domain. This conflict stems primarily from the interactions between limited resources (e.g. physical space, electromagnetic spectrum assignments) and the emphasis on maintaining total state sovereignty and independence of policy in the international arena. To preserve the peaceful use of the GEO regime, space actors must act soon to establish norms of behavior that dissuade maneuvers which place satellites close together on orbit.